Precious Remnant
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ILLUST: The value of remnants
Leftover pieces of something larger; can be an amazingly inspiring resource, valuable, used for good
Vicuna fabric - describe, cost
READ Romans 11:1-24
God Protects His Purpose
God Protects His Purpose
Always a remnant of believers
The CHURCH will NEVER die
Are YOU in?
1) It’s Up to the Individual
1) It’s Up to the Individual
(vv. 1-6)
Both to be saved, and to reject
Israel is not as a whole rejected
Otherwise, Paul would be, as he is “as Hebrew as it gets”
And…as bad as it seems in the world, believers are not alone
Elijah - Mt. Carmel, Baal prophets
Then he goes to hide in a cave from Jezebel
The number is not crucial
The quality of the believer IS
I’ll take a church of 40 who are spiritually strong over a church of 100 who like a nice social club!
That remnant, that small portion of all of humanity who have turned to Christ
So precious to Jesus!
Israel had their shot at pointing people to Yahweh
Now it’s up to the Church
And the Church is made up of individuals
And God will protect His plan, His purpose - His Church
“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
The Church - IS victorious - one soul at a time
2) It’s Up to the Word
2) It’s Up to the Word
(vv. 7-10)
Paul carefully uses the Word, NOT his own intellect and wit
The Word is bold, direct, sharp, to-the-point
Its desired affect - obedience to God
Disobedience - separates a person, hardens
The Word is what makes all the difference - Heb 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
It has been made very clear to His people throughout the ages, and people chose to reject, to not see or hear
ILLUST: Selective hearing??
Paul quotes Deut 29:4
“Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.
And he quotes Is 29:10
For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, the seers.
Why do you have eyes? To see
Why do you have ears? To hear
These are God-given
He expects you to use them to see His power, to hear His Word
And when you see and hear - you follow (I’m going to lean on the Word, like Paul did)
But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
(CONTEXT - People think Mary is someone super-special, Jesus counters, but explains why, )
When you choose not to see, or hear - you become hardened
When the truth becomes “blah blah blah”
ILLUST: Life, diet, exercise, finances…I hear you, yeah I know, but …
maybe later
DEEP DIVE into this word - harden
Harden - in 10:7 - different root word in 9:18 - Both English harden
10:7 - word is poros - (image of hand)
An “outgrowth” of unreasonable stubbornness
Leads to inability to use the hand, joint, etc.
When you choose not to see or hear, God will not use you
The nation of Israel, as a general group, has hardened themselves, and God said
“OK, Church, you’re up!”
What are we doing with what we see and hear?
3) The Salvation of Gentiles
3) The Salvation of Gentiles
(vv. 11:24)
(Gentiles, that’s you and me...)
Yahweh has always been at work
Psalms say He never slumbers nor sleeps
So…while Israel has been rejecting…
…Gentiles have been coming to salvation
There will be a great awakening for the Jewish, end times
We may be seeing a great awakening now, Church?
God brings good from evil, good from bad
Gentiles getting saved, should cause Hebrews to “get it” - stirring up jealousy
God is not done with Israel, with Hebrews, with ANY lost, for that matter
POINT - We are blessed, the result of others’ rejection
And God can save ANYone
Look at Paul - leading persecuter of the Church
Grafting in - since it is here, we discuss it…
Olive tree - with branches - God’s plan for Israel to lead the way to Him
(The branches here are not individuals who were “saved” and then had that taken away)
The branches here demonstrate God’s plan to invite ALL of Israel to be His people
Some rejected, so they are not part of the tree - branches broken of - room was made for Gentiles
In their place - Gentiles, all invited, to be grafted in
Now growing, since attached to the tree
The root is the foundation laid by the Word, the prophets, the apostles
Hebrews boasted about being Hebrews
God wanted them to boast in Him
Caution, Gentiles
Just because you are Gentile does not mean you are “in,” it is still by faith, personal
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.
APPLICATIONS for us
God’s purpose in your life - to hear this Word, to see His power, and to respond with a life of worship
It’s up to the Word
Just because your family went to church, belonged to a church…
Many hold to that heritage, and many are misguided and misled
“Just because you are a Gentile…”
Merely following a religion
When they should be following Jesus
See, the Hebrews, Israel, they were SUPPOSED to be a light to the Gentiles
“…I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
But pride got in the way
THEY were God’s special people…
Be thrilled with God’s grace and mercy
Point of chapters 9-11
When Israel failed to carry out their mission
God took it upon Himself to get it done
Jesus got it done
And if He could save someone like Paul…
NOW…As you have seen, and as you have heard…
Don’t just go through the motions
CHALLENGE:
Seriously, when did you give your life to Christ?
Why do you know you will spend eternity in Heaven?
Like Paul, it pains me to know that some will not, some who think they will, because of religion, works, etc.
Yes, some are disobedient and reject
But some…sit in churches like this every week
And have never bowed the knee in salvation
Consider this your hearing that Word, that opportunity
Gentiles are now included
But, just because you are part of the group of Gentiles, you still must make the individual choice
Would you do that today?
SAVED? KNOW IT? Awesome and amazing!
Don’t let it go to your head!
Yes, you are precious in the sight of God
Because of Jesus!
so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Close with reading Jeremiah 9:23-24
Remnants of fine fabric - can just sit there, or be used for another job
You are to be used to grow the Kingdom
Like the precious, valuable remnant of Vicuna
You are crucial to God’s plan
And far more valuable
